What a great commencent ceremony. I enjoyed MY special day, as well as my family. They said it was the nicest graduation they have ever attended. Way to go CUNY BA! Did anyone record the entire ceremony? If so, I’d like a copy if possible. Have a great summer!

It took a while to get meetings with them because my work schedule conflicted with their office hours — but I asked if they would even be able to meet for coffee on one of my days off. I was lucky with both — I had coincidentally emailed her one day when she had gone to her office unexpectedly, so she told me to drop by. There was no line waiting for her when I got there! The other Professor invited me to meet her outside of school. I’m very happy with how it turned out - I have two distinct Areas of Concentration and two Mentors who had valuable information for me even at our first meetings. One of my Mentors has mentored CUNY BA students many times before, and the other is a first-timer.

Another suggestion: Get on email lists or visit blogs for the department you are interested in to receive notification of any events or get-togethers they might sponsor, and email the department chair or secretary and find out if you can attend. Going to something like that could lead to meeting professors in person.

Living on a ship is exciting enough, but these students get to see a great number of amazing places throughout the world!

Studying abroad is a life changing experience- becoming familiar with new cultures, seeing places for the first time, making new friends, and learning a great deal about themselves.

Being able to study in a multicultural environment is a great opportunity for students, they will learn so much throughout the course of the semester, and it will change the way they view the world, for the rest of their lives.

Collectively, we obtained many hours of footage (a documentarian’s dream). I was able to conduct on-camera interviews with several prominent women before and during the event, including Terry Lawler of NY Women in Film and Television, Elizabeth Hines from the Ms. Foundation, and a few brief moments with Rosie O’Donnell and none other than Gloria Steinem (she was so gracious and I so nervous that I forgot to ask her my most important question!). It will be a while before my documentary emerges from the material I am now sifting through; as I review it all, I feel the thrill of being there and having the honor of recording the event all over again.

This past week, I attended a fun, informal “thank you” party thrown by Liz Abzug (although I feel I should be throwing *her* a thank you party), where I had the pleasure of meeting Jerin Alam, who spoke at the Conference. Of course, I asked her advice on dealing with e-permits! The Conference and the opportunity I was given was an energizing experience, and connecting with a fellow “CUNY BA-er” afterwards was a sweet follow-up.